The West African nation Closes Educational Institutions and Universities as Jihadist Blockade Exacerbates Petrol Crisis
The landlocked West African country has suspended educational facilities and universities across the nation due to a critical petrol shortage triggered by a blockade on fuel imports imposed by jihadist fighters.
The Education Minister declared on national broadcast that all academic facilities would stay shut until the ninth of November, noting that the transportation of employees and learners had been impacted by the blockade.
He stated that the government officials were “doing everything possible” to end the situation so that academic sessions could resume on November 10th.
For several weeks, Mali has been facing a petrol crisis, especially in the capital Bamako, after militants from an al-Qaeda affiliate enforced a blockade by attacking fuel trucks on primary roads.
The country is surrounded by land, so all fuel supplies are brought in by road from bordering countries such as Senegal and Côte d'Ivoire.
Long queues have been forming around petrol stations in the main city in the past few weeks, and the city's typically busy streets have now reportedly become deserted.
The military government had in recent days promised citizens that it was only a passing concern, but the situation has continued.
Recently, the United States diplomatic office in the capital stated that secondary diplomatic employees and their relatives would depart the country amid the intensifying petrol scarcity and escalating protection worries.
It explained that the fuel disruptions had disrupted the supply of electricity and had the “capacity to affect” the broader protection environment in unforeseen manners.
Mali is now led by a army council led by General Goïta, who took control in a coup in 2021.
The ruling council had popular support when it assumed control, vowing to deal with the ongoing instability caused by a autonomy movement in the northern territories by ethnic Tuaregs, which was then hijacked by extremist groups.
The international UN troops and France's military had been stationed in a decade ago to combat the increasing militant activity.
The international troops have departed since the military assumed power, and the ruling council has employed Russian mercenaries to tackle the insecurity.
Nevertheless, the Islamist rebellion has endured and large parts of the northern and eastern zones of the country remain not under administrative command.
